What can you do with your data plan?

Staying on top of your monthly data usage is important to make the most of your data plan. Many popular phones feature apps that run in the background and are always connected to the Internet. Every so often, keep track of your data usage with these helpful pointers.

First things first, know which apps and activities use the most data.

Top data hogs

Watching, streaming video or downloading video files

Automatic picture uploads and sync

Listening to streaming audio

Automatic app updates

Voice assistants

Emails with large attachments

YouTube, Hulu, Netflix and other streaming video apps are big culprits when it comes to data loss. Facebook, Google+, Dropbox and similar apps now have the ability to automatically save your pictures to the cloud. Voice assistants like Siri, Google Now and Microsoft’s Tell Me use your data connection every time you ask them a question. These are actions that are easily missed but not hard to resolve.

Tips for Managing data

Make the best use of your phone’s always-on connection to the Internet with a few helpful tips.

Wifi

Make use of WiFi at home or free public WiFi networks (coffee shops, restaurants, grocery stores and universities). Apps, such as WiFi Finder, can help you discover open WiFi networks you can connect to, though they may not be secure.

Usage Alerts

Another good tool is to make use of apps that help manage data. In Android 4.0 and later, you can set limits and alerts on your usage. There are also free and paid 3rd party apps available for Android and iOS.

Auto updates

Turn off auto updates or change the settings to update over WiFi only.

Email

Turn off push "as items arrive" email, and set email accounts to sync every hour.

Photos

Turn off automatic photo uploading or change the setting to upload on WiFi only.